With help from Juana Summers, Erica Martinson, Talia Buford and Darren Goode

DRILL, BABY, DRILL: That’s the name of the game as House Republicans give a strong push to several drilling initiatives today. This morning, the Natural Resources Committee takes up bills opening up Alaska drilling, developing oil shale resources and blocking the Interior Department from issuing rules that could hurt coal mining jobs. In a related story, House Speaker John Boehner threw his support Thursday behind the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, which would funnel the revenues from new oil and gas lease sales to infrastructure projects (Burgess Everett and Adam Snider had the story, ICYMI: http://politico.pro/uqNnLE).

BONUS HEARING: The full committee will also discuss drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Among the witnesses is Friends of the Earth President Eric Pica. Info: http://bit.ly/n2ZJ5D GOOD FRIDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Energy, where ME’s constant turkey talk has finally become seasonably acceptable — and delicious. Share your cranberry dreams — and also your energy news — with your regular Monday host, Patrick “Big Bird” Reis, at preis@politico.com.

IT AIN’T OVER TIL THE FAT LADY SINGS: After a mammoth hearing lasting almost five hours Thursday, it’s not clear what the next step is for House Republicans — though they all agree the investigation is far from over. Some expressed interest in hearing from former White House officials such as Rahm Emanuel and Carol Browner and others floated requesting a full-scale Justice Department investigation — and oversight panel Chairman Rep. Cliff Stearns said he thinks it’s time for Chu to get a pink slip.

Democrats, meanwhile, say Republicans have yet to produce a smoking gun. Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said Republicans should “stop dancing on Solyndra’s grave” and shift to an examination of much broader energy and climate issues. Darren Samuelsohn brings you what you need to know on what could happen next: http://politi.co/tg5Wvn

COMEBACK TOUR: Not dissuaded by his day in the hot seat, Chu will tour a GE solar manufacturing facility in Arvada, Colo., at 11:45 a.m. Mountain Time today and will "highlight the choice America faces when it comes to competing in the clean energy race and why we can and must play to win," according to DOE. The tour announcement was released as Chu testified Thursday. MURKOWSKI: KEEP CHU AT DOE: The ranking Energy and Natural Resources member told POLITICO Chu should not step down over Solyndra. “I have not kind of followed the House hearings with the secretary this week, I’ve kind of read the same reports that you guys have,” Murkowski said. “Based on what I have seen reported, I don’t believe he should step down.” Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Mitt Romney declined to call for Chu’s ouster — but Rep. Michele Bachmann was more than happy to oblige. Darren Goode will have the roundup for Pros this morning.

ONE SPENDING BILL MAKES IT: Congress gave final approval Thursday to a $182 billion domestic spending bill which marks a first down payment toward the August debt accords and rare return to some semblance of regular order for the tattered appropriations process. POLITICO’s David Rogers explains what happened: http://politi.co/uQPD0h

BUT MURKOWSKI PESSIMISTIC ON INTERIOR-EPA APPROPS: The Interior-EPA spending bill, seemingly in appropriations limbo, “has its own issues” and probably won’t come to the floor, Murkowski added. The Alaska Republican would like it to get on the floor, “but given the time perimeters that we're dealing with I don't think you're going to see it." Plus, the Senate can’t turn its nose up at all EPA riders, she said. “You know you look [at] the number of them on the House side and the seriousness on that side, yeah they're going to be part of the conversation. How much, which ones, we can only guess.” IPCC REPORT WILL CONNECT CLIMATE CHANGE, EXTREME WEATHER: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is set to drop its report on extreme weather and greenhouse gases at a press conference in Kampala, Uganda, at 5:30 a.m. ET. As the Guardian reported Thursday ( http://bit.ly/v9Ym7f), the report will conclude that climate change is, in fact, to blame for epic weather events such as flooding and droughts across the globe. Expect the IPCC report to come under fire from climate change skeptics, although it’s not clear whether the report will make a connection between human activity and global warming. Watch for more on Pro.

BUT SOME ON THE LEFT are already unhappy with the IPCC. Joe Romm of Climate Progress wrote Thursday night that the “watered down report” makes a connection most people made long ago. “Most climate scientists know what is coming if we don’t act quickly — and more and more are shedding their reticence to speak out, even if that is not yet reflected in bland, least-common-denominator IPCC reports.” His post: http://bit.ly/uGRXII

POLITICS AND SCIENCE DON’T MIX, HARRIS SAYS: Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and others in the GOP are seeking to exert more oversight on EPA by reauthorizing a long-dormant measure governing scientific activities at the agency. Harris said that the EPA “has a penchant for pursuing outcome based science in order to validate its regulatory agenda.” As a result, the public doesn’t trust the EPA, Harris said, “an untenable situation for an agency with sweeping authority over the nation’s economic activity.” Erica Martinson breaks it down: http://politico.pro/tWhP97

SANDING DOWN STATE: Sen. Bernie Sanders wants the State Department to hire a new contractor and wait for an investigation into the Keystone XL pipeline process before it completes a final environmental impact statement on the Alberta-to-Texas project. Talia Buford brings you the story: http://politico.pro/rKlIHU

GHG REGS TO COME OUT ‘EARLY NEXT CALENDAR YEAR,’ JACKSON SAYS: EPA isn’t sharing the details of draft greenhouse gas regulations the agency has sent to the White House, agency chief Lisa Jackson says in an interview to air on energyNOW! Sunday. "I can't tell you what the regulations say right now, but what we are planning to do is release them early next calendar year,” she says.”Not now. Maybe a little later.” energyNOW! previews the segment for ME readers: http://bit.ly/tMUXVW

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: Want cleaner air, greater U.S. energy security and more affordable options at the pump? Let's be friends. Check us out at http://www.facebook.com/angaus and join the call for nat gas now. **

ME FIRST: Wind proponents are ramping up their efforts to get a four-year extension of the production tax credit, a key renewables subsidy set to expire at the end of 2012. In a letter being sent Friday to Congressional leaders, 369 groups and companies — including the American Wind Energy Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Western Governors’ Association and United Steelworkers — say that the looming expiration is already beginning to stall investments in new projects and will eventually lead to job losses. “An expiration at this time would jeopardize this new American manufacturing sector,” they write. The letter: http://politico.pro/vH7Drj

UPCOMING REGIONAL FRACKING VOTE REPORTEDLY CANCELED: News broke Thursday night that the Delaware River Basin Commission has canceled a meeting scheduled for Monday at which Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and the Army Corps of Engineers were to vote on a plan temporarily lifting a hydraulic fracturing ban in the basin. The news came just hours after Delaware Gov. Jack Markell announced Delaware would vote not to lift the ban, throwing the five-way vote into doubt. StateImpact PA breaks it down: http://bit.ly/uRS527

FRACKING OPPONENTS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC: “This is not a complete victory by any means,” “Gasland” director Josh Fox wrote on the blog Save the Delaware. “We still do not know when the DRBC will reschedule their meeting. Could be 10 days, could be a month, could be a year. So stay tuned and stay ready.” http://bit.ly/ssVmAq

SUNDAY MORNING READ: The New York Times Magazine turns its eye to fracking in Pennsylvania. “In Amwell Township, your opinion of fracking tends to correspond with how much money you’re making and with how close you live to the gas wells, chemical ponds, pipelines and compressor stations springing up in the area. Many of those who live nearby fear that a leak in the plastic liner of a chemical pond could drip into a watershed or that a truck spill could send carcinogens into a field of beef cattle. … But for many other residents, including Haney’s neighbors, the risks seem small, and the benefits — clean fuel, economic development — far outweigh them.” http://nyti.ms/scy4PX

GARY JOHNSON ON FRACKING: “I'm going to keep an open mind on fracking,” former New Mexico and low-polling presidential candidate Gov. Gary Johnson said at a town hall in Washington on Thursday night. But “the fact that in Pennsylvania you could turn your faucet on and get water before fracking, and afterwards you could light it — that's a concern. That's a real, live concern.”

HOLD OFF ON E15, LAWMAKERS SAY: EPA should hold off on registering E15 — fuels made up of 15 percent ethanol — until more tests can be conducted on its effects on automobile and marine engines, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote the agency Thursday. The letter: http://1.usa.gov/sO3ZGg

WSJ CRITICIZED FOR NOT PUBLISHING CLIMATE OP-ED IN U.S.: The Wall Street Journal “marginalized” Richard Muller by not publishing his October opinion piece combating climate change skeptics in its U.S. edition, the Columbia Journalism Review says: http://bit.ly/rKQsMl HAPPENING TODAY

—Direct current lost out to alternating current because AC transmits more efficiently over long distances, but DC is making a comeback as some find it saves on bills. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/uYCGUG

— The EU may investigate whether U.S. biofuel producers are “dumping” ethanol using market-distorting subsidies into Europe. Bloomberg: http://buswk.co/rVRf0Y

— Unlike most other coal companies, Cloud Peak Energy isn’t fearing the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule because the company’s mines are in low-sulfur regions. Platts: http://bit.ly/rLs2Ml

— President Obama is extending production of the Naval Petroleum Reserves for another three years. His note to Congress: http://politico.pro/vYoDQw

THAT’S ALL FOR ME. Have a nice weekend.

** A message from America’s Natural Gas Alliance: One solution for more abundant domestic energy is staring us in the face. Natural gas is the natural choice — now and in the future. We know we need to use cleaner, American energy. And, we have it. Today, the U.S. has more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has oil, giving us generations of this clean, domestic energy source. Natural gas supports 2.8 million American jobs, most states are now home to more than 10,000 natural gas jobs. As Congress and the Administration look for ways toward a cleaner tomorrow, the answer is right here: natural gas. Learn more at www.anga.us. And, follow us on Twitter @angaus. **

** A message from Vet Voice Foundation: Tens of thousands of service members and veterans rely on public lands to hunt, fish, camp and heal from the wounds of war. These lands are part of the American heritage we fought for. As a new President and Congress look to rebuild America's infrastructure, we call on them to make an equal investment in maintaining our public lands and parks for our service members and all Americans. Support for our veterans must extend to investing in and protecting America’s natural heritage, for our children and grandchildren. www.VetVoiceFoundation.org **

Authors:

About The Author

Alex Guillén is an energy reporter for POLITICO Pro, where he covers EPA, regulations and coal, as well as lobbying and campaign finance in the energy realm. He previously wrote the Morning Energy newsletter. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., with a degree in anthropology and English. He is an avid reader and TV binger. The Delawarean, thrilled that there are finally Capriotti’s outposts in Washington, lives in Alexandria, Va.